First published in 1905, The Candidate: A Political Romance is Joseph A. Altsheler's warm, good-humored novel of American politics at the turn of the century—a story of idealism, ambition, and the inner workings of a campaign in his native Kentucky. When a principled young man is drafted as a reform candidate, he discovers that honesty can be both his greatest asset and his most dangerous liability, and that love and politics rarely keep a polite distance from each other. Written by a journalist who had covered the campaigns he now fictionalized, the novel offers a vivid portrait of stump speeches, party conventions, and the stubborn hope that public service can still be honorable. This edition reproduces the complete, unabridged original text, with a new introduction and reader's notes illuminating the book's historical setting, its political landscape, and its place in Altsheler's career. Part of The Founding Texts Library.